Sunday, January 3, 2016

Happy New Year , guys !!!! Wishing you all a healthy and productive 2016 !

And what better way to start the year by eating more veggies ? Okay , the original recipe is actually quiet healthy until I made some tweaks on it lol Nah , I just want to make something hearty so I added some chicken and quail eggs on mine .

I love thyme and it goes really great with chicken so a day before I cooked this dish , I visited several supermarkets , sadly , I didn't find some . Maybe , because it was after Christmas , and most people here had roasted chicken with lemon and thyme the night before ? Ha !

Anyway , I used dried thyme , which is pretty good sub and added fresh cilantro , just because .

The dish is pretty simple but remember when making the sauce , add the milk gradually as you stir it to the roux ( butter and flour mixture ) or else you'll have a lumpy sauce , which what happened to mine until I smoothen it out tsk tsk !

If you love cauliflower as much as I do , you'll gonna love this dish !

＊ Season chicken pieces with 1/4 teaspoon chicken powder , pinch of dried thyme and 1/2 teaspoon oil . Pan-fry chicken , skin side down first , over high heat until golden brown , about a minute or so , transfer to a plate and set aside .

* Melt butter in a pan , when it foams , add flour and stir for a minute . Gradually add milk and stirring until sauce is smooth . Add in dried thyme and chilli flakes , stir and let simmer for 2 minutes , remove from heat then stir in the cream and cheese . Season well with salt and pepper , stir in chopped cilantro .

* Meanwhile , cook cauliflower and leek in a pot of boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes or until just tender . Drain well .

* Transfer the boiled vegetables , chicken and quail eggs in casserole dish ( 9x13-inch would be great , I used 2 8-inch as I don't a big one ) . Pour in the cheese sauce and mix . Sprinkle some extra cheese on top .